For me the avatara Rahasya of the Lord is that He is the meeting point between God and human. He is the lowest expression of God and highest expression of human. If God ever could comedown to Her lowest level, she could have never done as She has done in the Lord. If a human ever has to raise beyond his human nature, he could have never achieved where the Lord displayed it. So He is the meeting point of God and Human. That’s why Brahmabandab Upadyaya called him ‘Nara-Hari’. Note He is not ‘Hari-Nara’ God-Man but Man-God. This doesn’t mean that Muktinath who was a human managed to gain divinity either by self-realization of ‘Aham-Brahmasmi’ or through His abnormal moral standard putting in practice what He promoted, as we often claim about Mahatma Gandhiji who dwarfed all other human beings through his life and teaching by saying, ‘My Life is my Message’. As Tozer rightly said, ‘Incarnation required no compromise of deity…when God became incarnate there was no compromise on God’s part’ (A.W. Tozer. Christ The Eternal Son. p.17) but he said, ‘Instead of God degrading Himself when He became man, by the act of Incarnation He elevated mankind to Himself.’( p.17) Interestingly Tozer didn’t give the title: Christ the Eternal God but only a Son.
Of course Rao is correct that Avatara is ‘multi-personal’1 manifestations still this ‘multi-personal’ events is not only from human point of view but also divine point of view—identifying with human still remain divine. Because Rao’s comparison is the context of tolerance as One God is viewed by various people in various ways according to their need.2 But in Incarnation it is not the metaphysical needs of human but to address our need to understand that metaphysical reality of God. This is a big subject and it needs deep and further reflection. But if we begin from here to contemplate on the occasion of the Purna-Avatara of the Lord which Christians celebrate as Advent day would become more meaningful if it remains a everyday reality in our life not keeping our metaphysical need to understand who God is but Who we are and from there to begin to understand Who God is and Why we need to understand Him not ‘Hari-Nara’ but ‘Nara-Hari’. Let us chant this beautiful Sanskrit bhajan, which contains no finite verbs. It is composed entirely of participles, compound nouns, and adjectives, all used in a poetic and descriptive form. This is a hallmark of certain styles of Sanskrit hymns, where the focus is on the meditative enumeration of divine attributes, rather than on narrating actions. Even though actions are essential, the hymn still celebrates His divine nature, while acknowledging His incarnation as ‘Nara-Hari,’ composed by Brahmabandab Upadhyaya, the Father of Indian Christian Theology, who successfully blended the metaphysical reality of God with His human nature.
Dayanand Bharati, 20-12-2024, Gurukulam
Notes
The fundamental Reality is not exhausted in any one manifestation. It has a multi-personal manifestation. It is never exclusively and completely exhausted in any one form, as claimed by the Semitic religions. It is the doctrine that Reality has multi-personal manifestations that is behind Hindu tolerance….— P. Nagaraja Rao, Essentials of Hinduism, Mumbai, Sudakshina Trust, 1978 p.3
2 The creed of tolerance has an impressive ancestry and a significant continuity in the history of Hinduism. It is so because of its relatedness to the basic and fundamental tenet of the multipersonal manifestation of ultimate Reality.
There is a popular verse in Sanskrit which approves of varied approaches to the Lord. ‘Whom the Saivas worship as Siva, the Vedantins as Brahman, the Buddhists as Buddha, the logician (Naiyyayikas) who specialize in canons of knowledge as the Chief Agent, the followers of the jaina code as the Ever Free, the Ritualists as the Principle of Law, may that Hari, the (p.4) Lord of the three worlds, grant our prayers’.
Yam saivah samupasate siva iti,/ brameti vedantinah/ Bauddhah Buddha iti pramanapatavah/karteti naiyyayikah/Arhanniyatha jainasasanaratah karmeti/mimamsakah/so yam vo vidadhatu vanchitaphala/ trailokyanatho harih|
Dr. Radhakrishnan points out that if the poet was writing in our age he would have added ‘whom the Christians devoted to work call Christ and Mohammedans call Allah.
Kraistavah krstur iti kriyaparathah alleti mahammadah.—ibid. pp.4-5
upacita-cira-cinmukurita prati-bimbita
brahma-paraatpara-ruupa-jaya deva (3) narahare. (1)
kanaka-kumaarii-baalaka bhava-caalaka
nirguna-gunaabhiraama—jaya deva (3) narahare. (2)
pandita-mandala-mandana bhaya-khandana
dandita-bhandana-bhuuta—jayadeva(3) narahare. (3)
aadhi-vyaadhi-vitaadana para-sevana
paavana-liilaa-khela—jayadeva (3) narahare. (4)
vini-vedita-nijavadana bhli-jiivana
krta-kilbisa-visanaasa—jaya deva (3) narahare. (5)
lalita-dayita-hrdranjana naya-naanjana
suda-lita-kaala-karaala-jayadeva (3) narahare. (6)
Victory to you, Lord, the God-man,
flowering of the eternal Wisdom,
the reflection of Brahman,
with beauty far-transcending! (1)
Victory to you, Lord, the God-Man,
Child of the fair Virgin,
yet Ruler of the universe,
with your qualities enchanting, yet beyond qualities! (2)
Victory to you, the God-Man,
radiant gem in the assembly of the learned,
the Vanquisher of temptation,
the Chastiser of the evil one! (3)
Victory to you, Lord the God-Man,
the Destroyer of all infirmities,
Love in brotherly service,
sanctifying the marvellouw works! (4)
Victory to you, Lord, the God-Man,
lifting yourself up in self-offering,
the sacrifice of your life,
destroying the poison of our sin! (5)
Victory to you, Lord, the God-Man,
beloved, gentle, the joy of our heart,
ointment of delight to our eyes,
victorious Crusher of cruel death! (6)
Hymn to the Word Incarnate
— ब्रह्मबन्धव उपाध्याय (Brahmabandhav Upadhyay)
उपचित-चिर-चिन्मुकुरित प्रतिबिम्बित
ब्रह्म-परात्पर-रूप जय देव (३) नरहरे। (१)
कनक-कुमारी-बालक भव-चालक
निर्गुण-गुणाभिराम—जय देव (३) नरहरे। (२)
पण्डित-मण्डल-मण्डन भय-खण्डन
दण्डित-भण्डन-भूत—जय देव (३) नरहरे। (३)
आधि-व्याधि-विताडन पर-सेवन
पावन-लीला-खेल—जय देव (३) नरहरे। (४)
विनि-वेदित-निजवदन भलि-जीवन
कृत-किल्बिष-विनाश—जय देव (३) नरहरे। (५)
ललित-दयित-हृद्रञ्जन नय-नाञ्जन
सुदलित-काल-कराल—जय देव (३) नरहरे। (६)
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